It was dark. Real dark. There weren't any windows at the top of the stairs. All he could see was the hands of his watch glowing. He knew that when both hands pointed up, that was 12 a clock. The watch was okay, but it would have been better if it was digital. His mom gave it to him for his sixth birthday to replace the cool one with the backlight that broke. It was supposed to help him tell the time but it just meant that he never knew what the time was…except when it was 12 a clock. If he had a proper backlight he could have used it like a torch. Now he didn't know where to put his feet.
He held on tight to the hand rail and felt around with his toes. The stairs were dusty, so it was a bit horrible, but he got both feet down safely on the first step. He went on to the next one a bit more bravely and it creaked. His heart thumped hard in his chest which made it hard to hear if anyone got up. The whole house was creaking and nobody was coming so maybe nobody heard. He carried on down the stairs, some creaked, some didn't. Near the bottom he missed a step in the dark and slid. He was sure the thump would wake somebody up, but again no one came. His ankle hurt a bit after that.
He was a little worried that no one was going to be there. 'Meet me at midnight. Reading Room.' the note said. No name. No reason.
Turning the corner he saw the light coming under the reading room door. A happy sigh came out of his mouth before he'd even thought about it. It was a bit loud. He listened. Still no one came. He opened the door. A girl with long blonde hair sat on a chair with her back to him. He knew straight away that it was Claudia. She didn't turn round.
"Close the door." she whispered.
Andy did as he was told. They didn't speak. Andy moved forward and sat on the floor. Claudia didn't raise her head.
Her breathing was all funny and her good eye was red. She was wearing a dressing gown over her pajamas which Andy thought was a good idea. He just had the jammies that Miss Gordon got him so it was hard getting out of the bed which was nice and warm. Claudia had slippers too.
She looked at him, opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but didn't. Andy got cross. He could have gotten in trouble sneaking down the stairs…
"What do you want Claudia?" he asked, crossly.
"I want to escape." she replied.
"Why are you telling me?" he said. He didn't know she was going to say that. It made him a little scared.
"Because I want you to come with me. To make sure that you don't get left behind. There are things that go on here that you haven't experienced and I don't want you to."
Leaving seemed like a silly idea. The food was nice at Wish House and Andy had been well looked after. Also he didn't want to get in trouble and he was leaving soon. What was it that was making Claudia want to leave?
After thinking about it for a minute, he guessed it was because Fat Pat had hit her.
"Is it because of Mr. DeSalvo? My Dad was nasty like him. We can beat him together. Your Dad will help."
"No Andy, he won't. You see, DeSalvo scares me, but really he's just a stupid bully. I know how to deal with him."
"Then why do we have to escape?"
"We have to get away from my father. He is just as nasty as DeSalvo but infinitely more intelligent and much more dangerous.
Above all else he values obedience, for you to see things his way, and is prepared to do anything to obtain it."
"I've never seen him hurt anyone. He was nice to me."
"Unless he really loses his temper, you will never see him hurt anyone. He will take you to the naughty rooms, he will use a proxy, he will hurt you where it doesn't show."
Andy didn't know what a poxy was, but he saw what Claudia meant. She lifted up her pajama top and showed him her back. He recognized the scratches and scars. He recognized the cigarette burns and remembered how it felt when one was put out on your skin. The brown, yellow and purple patches all over her back, just like his mom.
He felt like his dad was here and was going to get him. He saw his dad hitting his mom, hitting him. He remembered his dad chasing him round the garden for spilling his beer. Grabbing his arm. Felt his dad's hand near his face. He flinched. Dad was gone.
He was sitting on the floor. Claudia's arm was round him. He was shaking and he felt sick. He was breathing fast. His heart was too fast and he couldn't calm down. He felt like crying, but he wasn't going to. No more tears because of him, that's what mom said.
Taking big breaths, like mom taught him, he stopped panicking a little bit. Claudia squeezed his arm and looked worried.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." she said softly.
"It's okay. I understand now." he said back, still feeling a bit weird.
They sat together quietly. Andy felt safer with Claudia.
"I think there will be a chance tomorrow. Will you be ready?" she asked.
"Oh yeah! If my Mom comes tomorrow, maybe you can hide in the back of the car like me."
"Andy…maybe we should have another plan, just in case."
"Mom said she would be here in three days. She should be here tomorrow. If I could get everyone to notice me…if I cry or something…and then you could - "
"It won't work. Let's think of something else."
"Why?"
"I don't think I should tell you. It will upset you."
"What's wrong with my plan?"
"I…sometimes I see things. I have these dreams and they quite often come true. Though it doesn't always happen exactly the way I dreamed and sometimes the dreams aren't very nice."
"You dreamt that my plan won't work?" asked Andy, confused.
"Not exactly. I saw us escaping a different way, that's all."
"But my mom's coming. If I leave she might not find us and I want to go home."
"It's best to plan for different eventualities."
"I can't leave without my mom." said Andy, getting cross.
"She's not coming Andy." she said, getting cross too.
He felt hurt. He didn't know why Claudia would say something like that. Of course his mom was coming, she said she was.
"Being mean won't make me do what you want."
"I had another vision…they don't always come true but…"
"My mom wouldn't leave me here."
"Not on purpose, that's not what I meant. She won't make it because her car, the old blue Ford, she's…she's going to have an accident."
"No." he said quietly. He didn't know how she knew about his mom's car but he didn't care. She was saying horrible things to make him do her plan instead of his. That wasn't fair. He was angry.
"I don't want to be your friend anymore." he added, before leaving the reading room. Claudia whispered his name but he ignored it. He went upstairs, avoiding the stairs that creaked. He got back into his bed, now cold, and pulled the covers over his head. His body curled into a ball, he shivered and cried until he went to sleep.